In My Sight
by mycookiegirl
Summary: After an incident where Sodapop is kidnapped, Darry has fear for losing his remaining brother. The fear turns into paranoia, to the point where Darry can't feel happy without his baby brother being in his sight. He will go to extreme lengths to make sure his baby brother will never leave him.
1. Prologue

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)**

In media: kidnappers and common criminals are portrayed as smart. They always have their plans thought out thoroughly, and sometimes take months before actually doing what they always intended to do: kidnap a person, rob a bank, shoot a businessman – it was all the same.

A certain group of 'criminals' decided to take a different route as to what the stereotypical kidnappers did. They took three weeks in planning time, though most of that was wasted due to the fact that one of the members of the group had caught a sudden illness. But they all knew what their target was: they were going to kidnap Ponyboy Curtis.

Unfortunately, Brian, the man who was going to kidnap Ponyboy Curtis, didn't actually know what the boy looked like. He was the criminal who had caught the illness, so he was absent for most of the group's meetings. He heard that Ponyboy had two brothers, and he was a 'greaser' who hung out with two other people as well as his brothers. Brian wasn't the type of person who gave up easily however, so he was determined to kidnap Ponyboy, even if he didn't know what he looked like.

"Okay," Aaron, the leader of the gang, started. "I've seen that Ponyboy hangs out at a gas station after school. It's called the DX; he's always with another boy, who I'm pretty sure is his brother. Alright Brian, he's blond and he's poor – remember that."

Brian nodded vigorously, wanting his eldest brother to know that he could do the challenge. They were a gang of brothers, but none of them got along; though it was more than just a sibling rivalry.

The next day, after Ponyboy had finished school, the gang parked by an alleyway; all ready to put their plan in action. The alleyway was close to the DX, so the brothers planned to just take Ponyboy and then leave. Aaron nodded at Brian, who put on a determined face before exiting the car.

Little did the brothers know that Ponyboy's hair had already changed back to its original color. There was still blond in it, but there was nowhere near as much as there used to be. The last time Aaron had seen Ponyboy was four months before the kidnapping was set to take place; the brothers didn't want to risk looking at Ponyboy in case anybody got suspicious, and this is why you will learn that these criminals were the worst at kidnapping and planning in general.

Brian, who was the youngest of the four brothers, gulped before taking out a revolver. He didn't have any intention to hurt the youngest Curtis, but if he didn't come willingly then Brian knew that he'd have to threaten the boy until he did.

Sodapop, who had just had a war with Steve and Ponyboy (they were throwing candy bars at each other), left the DX to go and get some fresh air. It was a sunny day in Oklahoma, as it had been for the past few weeks, so his hair had been bleached to a wonderful wheat gold color.

The blond didn't notice the dark figure in the alleyway until a hand came over his mouth. The boy tried to scream, but Brian's hand was pressed so hard over his mouth that he felt as if his jaw would break. When he started struggling, Brian kicked him in the back of the shin, making it feel as if his legs had suddenly disappeared. Brian kept a firm hold on him and pressed the revolver against Sodapop's temple, making said boy's eyes widen.

"Easy; if you stay calm then nothing bad will happen to ya," Brian whispered, loosening his hold on the gun. Sodapop shook, and then attempted once again to gain attention. Brian sighed and hit Soda over the head with the gun, knocking Soda so that he was barely conscious. Soda whimpered, but Brian shook his head at him. "I warned you."

Soda was left lying in the secluded alleyway while Brian went to get help in carrying Sodapop's body to the car. Greg, his middle-brother, assisted Brian with carrying Soda's body to the car, but instead of shoving the boy in the trunk, they deposited him into the back seats, where Brian and Aaron were seated.

"He's a little big for fourteen isn't he?" Greg muttered as he held the car door open for Brian to place 'Ponyboy' in the seats. Brian nodded, wiping the sweat off his brow as he slid in his previous seat before slamming the door shut.

Greg got in the passenger seat, glancing back at Aaron to see if they were good to go. Aaron nodded and looked down at the boy who they had taken, but as the car started driving down the road he realized that this wasn't the boy who he'd seen four months ago.

This boy was taller, darker, handsomer – unlike Ponyboy who was a small, pale, cute boy who looked much younger than his age. It was true that an appearance could be changed in a few months, though Aaron doubted that one could change _this_ much.

This boy looked older than Brian who was sixteen, and the whole purpose of the kidnapping was to get another brother: a baby brother who they could look after and care for. Their mother wanted a little boy to look after, and when she had seen him at the school (before the murder of Bob Sheldon), she knew that he was the son that she had to have. And her boys had promised her that boy, and they promised to look after him.

"I didn't know Ponyboy worked at the DX too…" Aaron thought, scanning over the boy's uniform. "I thought it was only his brother and his brother's friend."

Realization dawned on Aaron, and he started breathing heavily before searching the boy. Brian raised his eyebrows at his brother's sudden movements, wondering what was wrong; he'd gotten what he'd wanted hadn't he?

Aaron sighed when he saw a small card sticking out of the boy's jean pocket. He took the card and closed his eyes, praying for a moment, before glancing at the card. It as a driver's license, and Aaron wanted to cry when he saw what the name read:

 _Sodapop Patrick Curtis_.

"Damn it! We've screwed up!" Aaron cried, throwing the license out of the window.

"What? How?" Cole, the second eldest brother, and the current driver, inquired loudly.

Brian and Greg both turned to Aaron, fear evident on both of their countenances. Brian was scared of what his brother would do to him for screwing up, and Greg was scared because he thought that the fuzz might have found out about their plan.

"Guys, we've kidnapped the wrong brother!"

 **XXX**

"And you're sure you didn't see where he went? Did he maybe meet up with somebody?" Darry asked Steve, clutching his hair in exasperation.

When he came home from work, he was greeted with the sight of Ponyboy and Steve arguing very heatedly with each other. Darry stepped in when Ponyboy was ready to throw a lamp at the older teenager, and demanded to know what had happened.

Steve gave him the news that Sodapop had left the DX for a short break, but he never returned from it. Darry felt sick; he had almost lost one brother, and he didn't want the stress of almost losing another one. But Sodapop wasn't the type of person to just disappear without telling anybody, and nothing had recently happened to make him want to run away, so this made Darry even more worried.

"Alright, if he doesn't return by his curfew, I'm calling the cops. Please, gather everyone who can help; I ain't losing Soda," Darry begged. Steve and Ponyboy both nodded and left immediately while Darry started making phone calls to Soda's friends as well as his own.

By 6 pm, all of Sodapop's friends were out looking for him, including Two-Bit's family, but nobody found him. Steve had found Sodapop's license by the park, so everybody searched the park, but again: found nothing. Everybody was ready for dinner by then and left, except for Darry, Ponyboy, Steve and Two-Bit's family.

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon; he's probably having a mood swing," Mrs Mathews smiled, trying to brighten the dark atmosphere. Darry nodded at her gratefully, and then turned to Ponyboy. "Guess we should all head back; who knows? He might be at home."

Everybody departed: Steve left for his house, Two-Bit's family left for their house, and Darry and Ponyboy left for their house…without Soda.

Dinner was exceptionally quiet that evening; Ponyboy and Darry didn't utter a word to each other, the only sounds were coming from Ponyboy's fork; the boy kept scraping his fork across his plate in anxiety.

"Stop it," Darry warned dangerously, and the boy did. Darry was in a foul mood now; constantly snapping at Ponyboy if he did something which irritated his brother in the slightest. The youngest Curtis was upset by this, but didn't address the matter.

The food which had been prepared turned cold, since both Darry and Ponyboy had lost their appetite due to the situation. Ponyboy scraped his food into the trash, and then cleaned both his and Darry's plates, but Darry didn't even seem to acknowledge him.

As he said he would, at 11 pm, Darry called the police and reported a missing person. The police soon arrived, collecting basic information about Sodapop as well as some photographs. They needed a few personal details too, and Darry took no time in giving them the information that they needed.

"We'll try our best to find your brother, Mr Curtis," the police officer promised, standing up to shake Darry's hand. Darry shook his hand and then raised his eyebrows at the officer, signalling that he wanted to know what was happening.

The officer promised Darry that they would do a search for Sodapop, and question residents of the city if they had seen anything suspicious around the DX. Darry smiled in gratefulness, wishing the officer a good night before shutting the door behind him.

Ponyboy watched as his brother collapsed on the recliner with his head in his hands. He wondered if this was the same reaction Darry had when he had run away, though he expected it would have been slightly worse since Darry had actually caused that incident.

"Don't worry Darry; I'm sure he'll be fine," Pony reassured softly, putting a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

He was surprised when Darry suddenly jerked away from him. The man stood up and glared down at his little brother, who shrunk back in fear.

"You're sure he'll be fine, huh? How can you say that? Don't you care?!" he yelled, his eyes widening in anger.

"N-no, but let's look at the positives, huh?" Ponyboy stuttered, shaking slightly.

" _Positives_? Really? After what happened last time, I can't believe you're saying that! But then again, at least Soda uses his head more than you," Darry responded aggressively, turning away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ponyboy questioned, staring at his big brother. He realized his question was a mistake when he saw the look on Darry's face as he turned around again.

"Well, I'm sure that nobody will end up _dead_ , unlike last time."

"That wasn't my fault!"

"Oh, I'm not talking about Bob. I'm talking about Johnny – whose fault was that? If I recall, it was _yours_."

Ponyboy stopped trying to think of comebacks and just stayed silent. Darry realized that Ponyboy hadn't replied to him, and looked down at his little brother, but saw nothing but sadness. He replayed the words in his head, and felt a sinking feeling of regret pass into his chest.

"Oh Pony…" he started, at loss for words.

The youngest Curtis bolted up into his and Soda's room, slamming the door loudly behind him. Darry bit his nails and clenched is eyes shut; why did he have to go and say that? One brother was already missing, and who knew what Ponyboy would do now that Darry had said those words to him…

No! Darry wasn't going to lose Pony too. Not two brothers in one day; it wasn't fair! So far Sodapop was gone, but that didn't mean that Darry couldn't prevent Ponyboy from ever leaving him; he'd make sure that Pony hardly ever left his sight.

He went to the cabinet and found the child lock which his parents used to put on all of the children's windows when they were young. He crept into Ponyboy's room, noticing that the boy was sobbing on his bed. Darry's heart broke at that, but he didn't make a sound, and secured the window before slipping the key in his pocket.

"Hey, come on now little buddy, I didn't mean it," he soothed, sitting on the bed and wrapping his arms around Pony. Ponyboy was shocked for a moment and struggled, but Darry kept his arms around his little brother; preventing him from going anywhere.

Ponyboy was crying loudly, as if he had been wounded. Well, Darry's words had wounded him, plus his older brother was missing, so he had reason. Darry stroked the boy's hair and kissed his head, trying to comfort him as much as possible. The youngest Curtis still struggled, but because of his lack of energy due to the stress of losing his brother as well as not eating his dinner, his attempts were futile.

Darry held Ponyboy and then gently laid him on the bed, trying to make his little brother feel as comfortable as possible. Pony sighed and closed his eyes, hugging himself as Sodapop wasn't there to hold him. The oldest Curtis wanted to hold his baby brother, but knew that Pony probably didn't want to talk to him, so he left him alone.

However, as Darry sat down on the sofa, he realized that Pony still might be able to escape; there was nothing to stop him from walking out of the front door. Luckily, Darry remembered where the key to Pony and Soda's bedroom door was, and he took no time in getting it out of the kitchen drawers. He crept over to the door and locked Ponyboy inside the bedroom, preventing him from leaving.

"I ain't losing you again, Pony. Even though Soda's gone for now, I promise things will get better. I'm gonna keep you safe, even if it means keeping you in here forever," Darry stated, but it was directed at himself, not Ponyboy.

Darry would make sure that he kept this promise; he wasn't going to lose Pony ever again, even if it meant he had to upset his little brother. Because Darry was determined.

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed the prologue guys! The main plot will progress more in the next chapter. This is going to be based mainly on Darry and Pony, but there might be some scenes of Soda with the kidnappers. Also, just noting that Pony is fourteen in this fic but he looks younger than his age. Stay Gold everybody :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)**

Darry sat up feeling cold and miserable. Memories of the previous day echoed in his head, and he dug his nails into his hand; somehow believing if he made himself suffer, Sodapop would return. Unfortunately, he didn't. He remembered that something else had happened, something very important, but he couldn't seem to think of what the important thing was. That was until a cry came from another room.

"Darry! I'm locked in my room!" Ponyboy cried, throwing himself against his door. Darry heard Ponyboy's body crash into the door, and got up and retrieved the key to let his little brother out of his room.

"Don't worry, Pony, it's fine," Darry soothed, pulling Ponyboy into a hug. Ponyboy hugged his brother back, shaking at the thought of being stuck in his room forever. "Come on, let's go eat breakfast."

Ponyboy walked over to the refrigerator to make him and Darry some cereal, but was shocked when Darry told him to leave it.

"It's alright Pony; I'll make it," the oldest Curtis smiled, but Ponyboy shook his head.

"You made dinner last night. It's not fair on you," he remarked, but Darry just ushered him to the dining table. "Well, I need to be quick; I've got school."

"I'm sure you can leave it for one day," Darry snapped, not wanting his little brother to leave the house. What if Ponyboy ran out of the school and never returned? Darry didn't want to take the chance.

"If I don't go then I'll have to repeat this grade," Ponyboy frowned, wondering what had gotten into Darry overnight. Darry was always the one who nagged at Ponyboy to never miss school, and now he was telling him to not go!

"Your brother's gone missing; I'm sure they'll understand." Darry tried, not realizing that he was drowning his cereal in milk.

Ponyboy thought for a moment. It was true that he was very upset because his older brother had gone missing, but they didn't know for sure if anything bad had happened to him. Maybe he just needed a break from everything – like Ponyboy had a few months before.

"Relax Dar, it's Friday. I only have to get through this day; then it's the weekend. Soda's gonna be fine," Ponyboy grinned, but Darry didn't look convinced.

However, just as Darry was about to give up, he saw a bottle of cleaning solution by the sink. He knew that if he just put a little bit in, Ponyboy would get sick, and sickness meant that Ponyboy wouldn't have to attend school.

"Go take your shower Pony; breakfast will be ready when you come out," Darry ordered, sounding like a robot as he eyed the clear bottle.

Ponyboy just shrugged and got up; a shower sounded nice, especially since he had a headache. He'd have to take some aspirin after breakfast.

Slowly, Darry approached the transparent bottle. After unscrewing the top, Darry had to tip his head back as the strong scent of bleach hit him. He felt dizzy for a moment, but quickly gained his composure.

"Do I really wanna do this?" he thought, pouring cereal into a bowl. He filled the bowl to the brim with milk, and then swivelled his eyes over to the bottle of cleaning solution. It would probably cause Ponyboy to vomit with just a tiny dosage, and Darry could only think of how much damage it would do with a higher quantity.

But as the running water from the shower shut off, Darry found himself picking up the bottle and pouring the clear fluid into the lid from it. He quickly tipped the content inside the lid into Ponyboy's bowl of cereal, and before Darry could change his mind he harshly put down the bowl on the table, creating a loud bang.

"What was that?" Ponyboy asked, coming out dressed in a red shirt and jeans. He was drying his dripping hair with a towel, making Darry smile; he preferred Pony with long, auburn hair; it made him look like Ponyboy, not the boy with short blond hair. Thinking of blond hair made Darry's smile falter; Soda's hair was blond. "Darry?"

"Oh, I just lost my balance and hit my hand on the table by accident," the man replied, blowing his knuckles for emphasis.

Ponyboy just shook his head, smiling at his big brother; maybe Darry wasn't perfect after all. The boy sat down, but the sight of the cereal suddenly made him a little queasy.

"I'm not hungry," he stated, but shrunk back as Darry's face darkened.

"I don't care," Darry snapped. "Eat it; I don't want you getting sick." Little did Pony know that the whole intention of the cereal was to make him sick.

The youngest Curtis miserably ate his cereal, but started coughing unexpectedly. The cereal didn't taste right; it tasted stronger, if that was even possible.

"It doesn't taste right," Pony remarked, but Darry shook his head.

"Well you haven't eaten cereal in a while – I'll have to get some chocolate cake. Oh, and if you feel sick in school at all, I want you to get them to call me. Heaven forbid you stay in school while you're sick," Darry demanded, raising his eyebrows to show Pony that he was serious.

Ponyboy just shrugged, eating his cereal so he didn't annoy his big brother any further. Perhaps his mind was just playing tricks on him; he did have a headache after all.

"Can I have some aspirin?" he asked Darry, whose head snapped up instantly.

"If you're sick-"

"I just have a headache; that's no reason to skip school." Ponyboy was becoming slightly agitated now.

"Fine!" Darry snapped, shoving his chair under the table to retrieve the aspirin. As long as Pony's cereal got eaten by Pony though, he didn't care.

Ponyboy ate his cereal rather quickly and shoved some aspirin in his mouth before swallowing some water. The actions made him stumble, but he regained his balance and picked up his backpack.

"I'm leaving," Ponyboy called, rushing out of the door.

"Remember to call me if you're sick!" Darry shouted, putting his tool belt on. He knew that Pony knew his work's phone number, but that didn't stop him from biting his fingernails; what if Ponyboy decided to be stubborn and didn't call him?

He'd have to deal with him if he didn't; it was the only way Pony would learn.

 **XXX**

Ponyboy had trouble concentrating in class; he had an awful pain in his stomach that wouldn't go away. The boy didn't want to call Darry though; he wanted to prove to his older brother that he wasn't sick.

"Mr Curtis, what did I Just say?" Ms Connors, his English teacher, asked firmly. Ponyboy looked around, but everybody just stared back at him expectantly. The boy began to sweat; he couldn't get in trouble now! "Ponyboy, are you okay?"

"Did you say something about Shakespeare?" Ponyboy questioned tiredly, rubbing his sore forehead; the headache didn't seem to go away, even after the aspirin.

"No, I didn't. You look a little pale…would you like to leave the classroom to get a drink?" Ms Connors offered, in a much gentler tone.

Ponyboy smiled faintly and nodded, almost toppling over as he stood up. There appeared to be a few lights dancing in the distance, but Ponyboy ignored them and left the classroom in a flustered state.

He took no time in spraying water all over his hot face. The youngest Curtis really didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like it one bit.

"Maybe I'm just stressing over Soda," He thought, drinking some of the cold water that ran from the tap. "It's not every day your brother just disappears for no reason."

However, what Pony didn't know, was that the stress of losing Sodapop was far from his problems.

 **XXX**

"Man, what are we gonna do?!"

"Brian, shut up. He's tied up anyway, so he can't do nothin'."

"What if ma comes in?"

"Then we'll tell her what happened. Geez Greg, you worry about everything."

"Leave me alone, Cole!"

"Both of you stop! Let's all just calm down."

Sodapop Curtis slowly opened his eyes, wondering why his head felt as if it were about to explode. Glancing around slowly to avoid suspicion, he realized that he wasn't at home, and the four boys' faces proved it.

One of them he recognized as Brain, a boy who used to be in his grade. Of course Sodapop had left school, so he hadn't seen or heard from Brian until now.

"I thought he was in your grade, Brian. How'd you get them mixed up?" Cole inquired, looking at his brother. Brian hitched his glasses further up his nose and sighed.

"I panicked, okay? It's not every day you're told to kidnap somebody," Brian replied.

"Well, you must have noticed that he's about an inch taller than you," Aaron snapped, enraged with the current situation. "Now we'll never get another baby brother. And ma won't be happy."

The four brothers were oblivious to the fact that Sodapop was listening to the conversation; they thought that he was still knocked out.

"Can't we just let him go and get Ponyboy tomorrow? We won't have to tell mom a thing," Greg suggested, but Aaron shook his head.

"The cops will be over to question Sodapop. And if we take Ponyboy, they'll know exactly who took him. Why didn't you wear a mask, Brian?"

"I can't think of everything, Aaron!"

The brothers continued to argue as Sodapop tried to untie the ropes around his wrists. He had a piece of cloth in his mouth, but they had left his eyes alone so he could still see.

"Hey, he's awake!" Cole shouted, pointing at the boy. Sodapop shrunk back in horror as all of their heads snapped towards his direction.

"Cole, what's going on?!" A raspy, female voice inquired from one of the other rooms.

Sodapop started screaming so Greg tightened the cloth around Soda's mouth, preventing him from making any sound at all.

"Nothing mom, we're just playing," Brian answered, but bit his lip as all of his brothers frowned at him.

"Well, keep it down. I'm working," the woman demanded.

Aaron picked up a baseball bat, and Cole, knowing what he was about to do, grabbed his wrist.

"C'mon Aaron, he's just scared," the second eldest reasoned. He then turned to Sodapop. "If we let you outta here, you won't tell anyone it was us, right?"

Sodapop nodded vigorously, giving Aaron a wide-eyed stare. Aaron sighed and prepared to put the bat down, but changed his mind quickly.

"He's lying," he claimed, and swung the bat over Sodapop's head. Sodapop was knocked out straight away.

 **XXX**

"I don't care what you have to say; you're not allowed to stay in school after vomiting," the school nurse explained, dragging a pale Ponyboy down the school hallway by his arm.

"But I don't want to go home!" Ponyboy declared, trying to pull out of her grasp but being too weak to do so.

"Well that's just tough," the nurse replied, sitting Ponyboy down on one of the sofas and handing him a plastic cup of water. "Drink it while I go and tell the secretary to make a phone call home."

Ponyboy pouted, however he couldn't resist having a few sips of the cool water. A few sips turned into big gulps, and eventually all of the water was gone.

He waited in silence, wondering how Darry would react. The young boy knew that Darry didn't want him to go into school, but now that he'd interrupted his big brother at work, Ponyboy was sure that Darry would flip out.

He was wrong though. As soon as the school secretary informed Darry of Ponyboy's illness, the man took didn't give a second thought about work. He told his boss what happened and left quickly, excited to pick up his baby brother.

The youngest Curtis had to swallow to prevent himself vomiting again; he didn't know what had happened, but he was slightly scared. He smiled faintly when Darry appeared, and his big brother gave him a grin back. After Darry signed him out, the young boy got up and followed his brother out of the school, prepared for Darry to start shouting at him, but surprisingly he didn't.

"I want you to go to bed as soon as we get in. I'll bring you in some soup and more aspirin," Darry declared, getting in the truck. Ponyboy copied his brother's actions and slid in the passenger seat, leaning his forehead against the glass.

The boy was in no mood to argue, so as soon as he strolled into the house, he immediately went to his bedroom. He was hot so he stripped off his clothes, climbing into bed, however he suddenly felt cold, so he pulled the covers over him.

Darry started preparing the soup and anxiously glanced at the cleaning solution on the counter. He knew any more of it in the space of a short period of time would seriously harm Ponyboy; the boy was already vomiting, and Darry dreaded to think of what would happen if Ponyboy consumed any more.

He didn't want to make Pony sicker, but he wanted to keep him sick to avoid the risk of sending him back to school and potentially putting himself in danger. Instead, the oldest Curtis rummaged through the medicine cabinet, and sighed when he found a bottle of cough syrup. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he at least wanted to try.

Mixing a small amount of cough syrup into Ponyboy's soup, Darry glanced at a picture of Sodapop which was hanging on the living room wall.

"I'm doing this to keep Ponyboy safe – he'll thank me later," Darry told himself, getting some aspirin out and setting it on the tray which the soup was on. The man carried the tray to Ponyboy's room, feeling slightly guilty about what he was doing. But then he thought of the picture of Sodapop again, and decided that he was as much a victim as Ponyboy was.

"This soup tastes strange," Ponyboy commented, stirring the soup around in the bowl.

"You're just sick. I want it all eaten," Darry demanded, and Ponyboy did as he was told.

 **AN: There's the first chapter (the previous one was more of a prologue than a chapter). More stuff has happened in this chapter. I wonder how far Darry will go? Hope you all enjoyed :D**


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)**

Ponyboy awoke with a start. He was sure that he hadn't had a nightmare, but he was sweating and breathing fast. The boy felt hot, however when he pushed his covers off him, he suddenly felt cold again. This scared him, so he got up to get Darry.

However, when he attempted to open the door, he realized it was locked, just liked it had been in the morning. Fear overcoming him, he began to scream. He hoped his big brother hadn't left him.

A lock could be heard turning, and then suddenly Darry barged through the door, knocking Ponyboy to the ground. The smaller boy whimpered, wiping his cheek where Darry's elbow had hit him.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry," Darry sighed, crouching down and lifting the younger boy up. Ponyboy wrapped his arms around his big brother while the older man held him close.

"I don't feel well," Ponyboy sniffled, burying his face in his brother's shoulder. Darry put a hand on his baby brother's shoulder, and he knew that the youth was burning up. However, he was worried that if he gave Ponyboy any medicine, the boy could end up dangerously ill.

"I know, Pony, I know. Go to my room, alright? I'll bring you a glass of water," Darry smiled, putting Ponyboy down. The boy wiped his eyes before following his brother's command.

The oldest Curtis strolled to the kitchen and got a glass out of the cupboard. He filled the glass to the brim with water, and then put some ice in it before making his way back to his bedroom.

Ponyboy had curled himself up on the left side of Darry's bed. He was clutching the blanket in agony, blinking hard as sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Oh dear," Darry said softly, placing the glass down on the table next to his bed. The man rubbed Pony's back while the boy groaned in discomfort. "Want some water, little buddy?"

The youngest Curtis nodded and sat up, reaching out for the glass. Darry chuckled and handed the water over, observing how quickly Ponyboy was drinking the water.

"Easy buddy; drinking it too fast isn't good for ya," he warned, gently taking the glass from the younger boy. Ponyboy groaned once again and lay down on the bed, rubbing his stomach.

Darry switched the light off and climbed in the bed next to his little brother, wrapping his arm around the boy. Ponyboy, who missed Sodapop dearly, snuggled into Darry's embrace, while the older man wiped away a tear from his younger brother's cheek. The youngest Curtis hadn't even been aware that he was crying.

Soon, both brothers fell asleep. Darry had his arm around his little brother's small frame, as if trying to prevent him from ever leaving his side.

 **XXX**

The next day, Ponyboy felt a lot better. Darry didn't; now that Ponyboy was feeling better, he wanted to go out, and Darry wasn't fond of the idea one bit.

"Just for a ten minute walk, Dar. I'll be fine!" Ponyboy protested, but Darry shook his head.

"You're still sick and that's final," Darry snapped, sipping from his cup of coffee. Ponyboy put his hands over his eyes, trying to stop himself from lashing out at his eldest brother.

Breakfast was silent after the argument. That was until Two-Bit and Steve came waltzing through the front door.

"Alright family?" Two-Bit greeted, sitting next to Ponyboy and pulling the box of cereal towards him. He dug his filthy hands though the box, grabbing a handful of cereal and shoving it in his face. Ponyboy chuckled while Darry scowled in disgust.

"Any news on Soda?" Steve asked, grabbing the juice carton and pouring a glass of orange juice for himself.

"Nope," Darry responded forcefully, snatching the box of cereal away from Two-Bit.

Two-Bit shook his head sadly, his signature grin disappearing for a second. The man was sad that another one of his buddies was gone, though he knew that there was still hope that Soda would be home soon.

"Wanna come out it me and Steve, Pony? We were just headin' over to The Dingo," Two-Bit offered, smirking at the way his little friend's face lit up.

"He's not going," Darry answered for Pony, ignoring his baby brother's angry expression. "I'm not having him go out when he's all sick."

"I ain't sick, Darry!" Ponyboy yelled, startling Two-Bit and Steve. Darry just shook his head, sipping from his cup again.

Ponyboy felt himself turn red; he was extremely annoyed at his eldest brother. Why was Darry being so protective? If Soda was here, then Darry wouldn't care about him!

"Just because Soda's not here doesn't mean you can use me as a replacement!" Ponyboy shouted, wanting to wound his brother. Indeed he did, but he didn't feel so hot about what he'd just done.

Darry slammed is coffee cup down on the table and stormed to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Everybody in the kitchen winced, and Ponyboy ran a hand through his hair.

"You guys should go," he stated, turning around. He didn't look up until he heard the slam of the front door.

Slowly walking to Darry's room, Ponyboy took deep breaths. He had been meaning to upset his brother, but now that it had happened, he regretted everything.

It was a sad sight in Darry's room. The greaser was sitting on his bed, holding a picture of Sodapop. Ponyboy swallowed and sat beside his brother, who didn't seem to notice him.

"I'm sorry, Darry. I'll stay here with you," the young boy smiled, looking at his brother.

Darry didn't answer; he just continued to stare at the picture.

"Maybe we could do something together – just me and you. Remember when we little and we got sick, so mom and dad would put on a movie or we'd play board games?" Ponyboy said, hoping his brother would comply.

The oldest Curtis took his eyes off the picture of Sodapop and glared at his little brother, who shrunk back.

"You're right: I can't use you to replace Soda; you'll never be as good as him. Just go out and do whatever; I couldn't care less," Darry spat, turning away from his baby brother.

Ponyboy whimpered. What had he done? His brother had clearly wanted him to stay home so he could spend time with him, but Pony didn't want that; he just wanted to be selfish and spend time with his friends. Not with his brother who did everything for him. Not with his brother who feared losing another brother.

"I'm sorry," Ponyboy apologized, wrapping his arms around Darry. Darry shoved his little brother so harshly that he fell on the floor.

"Get out!" Darry demanded, and Ponyboy took no time in getting up and running out of the house.

He didn't go to The Dingo; instead he walked to the park, where Bob Sheldon had been murdered. The boy sat on a bench, next to a black-haired woman with four young children surrounding her.

"Go play," she ordered, and they all left. She sat back, and then noticed Ponyboy, who was biting his thumbnail manically. "Need a cigarette?" Ponyboy nodded.

He took the cancer stick and lit it up with a lighter he had in his jeans pocket. The woman requested to use his lighter, and he gave it to her without hesitation, since she had been the one to hand him a cigarette when he needed one.

"Rough day? You look upset," she remarked, taking a puff from her cancer stick. "I'm Dol - or Dorothy if ya fancy."

"I ain't fancy," Ponyboy laughed, rolling his cigarette between his fingers. "I guess you could call it a rough day. And I'm Ponyboy."

"What a strange name. And we all have our rough days. I've had a few this past week," Dol sighed, shaking her head. "My sister's been sayin' how she wants a son and everything. Keeps goin' on about this boy, though she hasn't told me his name. Said her boys are gonna talk to this boy, invite him over for dinner. But my sis, she's a little crazy."

Ponyboy nodded, interested in the information.

"My sis, she's got four boys already: Aaron, Cole, Greg and Brian. Brian and Cole are real nice, Greg's quiet, and Aaron…he's a bit like his mom. I would have thought that my sis wanted a girl, but she's insistent on having another boy. She's getting on a bit now, so she can't have no more. But this boy; she is obsessed with, and the boys seem to want him as their brother too."

"How strange," Ponyboy commented, taking one last drag of his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and crushing it under his boot. "At least they're all together; my brother went missing a few days ago."

"Oh sweet, I'll pray for your brother," Dol exclaimed, patting Ponyboy on the back. "Here, take this; you could use it," she said, shoving a small bracelet in Ponyboy's hands. On it were crucifixes and pictures of lambs.

"I couldn't," Ponyboy insisted, but Dol gently pushed the bracelet back into his hands.

"Your brother is a lost sheep. Wear this bracelet, and the Lord will find him," she promised, smiling at the boy. Ponyboy smiled back and slipped the bracelet on his wrist, thanked the lady for the cigarette and walked away.

Once he arrived home, he found Darry pacing the floor nervously. When Darry set eyes on his baby brother, he immediately rushed over to the smaller boy.

"Oh Ponyboy, never do that to me again!" Darry shouted, grabbing Ponyboy's face to force the boy to look at him.

"You were the one who told me to get out, Darry," Ponyboy reasoned.

Darry let go of his brother's face and fell to his knees, hugging Ponyboy close to him. Ponyboy lost his balance and ended up falling, but Darry caught him and held the young boy close to him.

"I'm so sorry, baby. If anything happens to you, I'll end up blaming myself. I'm sorry for telling you to get out. When Two-Bit and Steve came back over, I asked them if you were with them. But you weren't; they hadn't seen you. Any anger I had before is gone Pony, I promise."

Ponyboy just snuggled his brother, feeling bad for making the man so worried. He vowed he wouldn't worry his big brother like that ever again.

"C'mon, let's get you something to drink," Darry said, standing up and leading Ponyboy into the kitchen.

The youngest Curtis sat down while Darry prepared Ponyboy some chocolate cake. He made a cup of coffee for himself, and then decided to prepare Ponyboy one too. He slipped in some tranquilizer pills that he had found while Ponyboy had gone 'missing'.

Ponyboy made a face when Darry set the coffee down in-front of him. He crossed his arms and refused to drink it, but Darry just shook his head.

"Please drink it, Pony; coffee's good for sick people," he said, pulling a sad face. He knew that Pony would be willing to do whatever he wanted since he had upset his big brother earlier that day.

The boy groaned, however he drank the coffee down in one go to please his big brother, not even opening his mouth to shriek when the drink burnt his mouth and tongue. Darry just sipped his uncontaminated coffee slowly, smirking as his little brother ate his cake.

After eating his cake, Ponyboy began to feel a bit drowsy. He didn't know how it was possible; he had felt as high as a kite when he burst into the house.

Darry just cleaned everything up before picking up his baby brother and carrying him to his own room. Even though Pony's door had a lock on it, he wanted to put Pony in his bedroom to keep a better eye on him.

The man placed the boy down on the bed and removed his shoes and shirt before tucking him in. The oldest Curtis went into Ponyboy's old room and picked up a book before strolling back to his own room. He sat down beside Pony and opened the book.

"Darry, that's a book for little kids," Ponyboy complained tiredly, snuggling down under the bed covers.

Darry just ran a gentle hand through his baby brother's hair before beginning to read. Ponyboy tried to follow the words, but Darry's soothing voice and gentle hair-stroking made his eyes close. The oldest Curtis smiled, placing the book on the table and kissing his baby brother on the head.

"Sweet dreams, kiddo," Darry smiled, closing the door quietly.

Ponyboy didn't dream though; the pills were too strong, too powerful. He didn't have a nightmare though, and just slept peacefully as the pills did their work.

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed that chapter :) Please feel free to leave suggestions; they're highly appreciated ;) Thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far – I can't thank you all enough :D**


	4. Chapter 3

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)**

Ponyboy barely had the energy to open his eyes when he woke up. His head felt so heavy, and he felt as if he had a heavy rock on each of his shoulders. The boy tried to call for his big brother, but had to stop as his chest began to ache terribly. What was happening to him?

Darry walked into the room with a smile on his face. He was carrying a small tray with a tall glass and a white cup. The glass was filled with orange juice and the cup was filled with coffee.

"How ya' feelin'?" Darry asked his brother, placing the tray down on the small table next to his bed before sitting down next to his little brother.

The youngest Curtis moaned, his eyebrows furrowing together. His head was killing him; he really wanted some ice for it. Ponyboy could barely see Darry and if it wasn't for the larger man's distinctive, deep voice, he wouldn't have recognized his brother.

Darry sighed, feeling Ponyboy's forehead. It literally felt as if it was on fire, and for a second Darry thought his heart might have leapt out of his chest; had the pills done this? He'd only slipped two or three into Pony's coffee, and that wasn't a lot was it?

"Wha's happenin' ta' me?" Ponyboy slurred slowly, trying to keep his eyes open. Darry took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily; maybe this was for the best.

The man sadly smiled at his baby brother before pulling the covers over him again. He helped the boy sit up and gently tipped some of the apple juice from the glass into Ponyboy's mouth. Ponyboy began choking, so Darry placed the glass down and rubbed his brother's back.

Ponyboy winced when Darry put the glass down. He began crying, as he was sure his head had never hurt this much, not even when that soc had kicked him during the rumble before Johnny's death.

The oldest Curtis hushed his brother and helped him to lie back down.

"Darry, I don' wan' you to…go," Ponyboy sighed. "I wanna s-stay a…awake."

"I'll see ya later okay, little brother?" Darry smiled, kissing Ponyboy on the forehead.

Ponyboy whimpered and reached for his brother, but Darry stood up and picked up the tray which he and previously set down, along with the unfinished glass of apple juice, and impressively balanced the tray and glass with one hand. The youngest Curtis called for his brother again, but Darry acted as if he couldn't hear him.

"Have a nice sleep," Darry said gently, placing his hand over Ponyboy's eyes. Ponyboy had no choice but to close them.

Then Darry left, and Ponyboy slowly opened his eyes, however it wasn't long before they rolled back and he was dead to the world…again.

 **XXX**

Sodapop twitched before opening his eyes. He scanned around the unfamiliar room for a moment, and then remembered the situation: he had been kidnapped. The teenager groaned and tried to get up, only then realizing there were tight ropes around his wrists and ankles.

"Look, Aaron, look! He's awake!" a male voice yelped. Sodapop recognized that voice; he had heard it not too long ago.

"Quiet Brian," another voice reprimanded, though this voice was softer and to Sodapop, seemed more welcoming. "Though Brain has quite a fair point, Aaron. What do we do now?"

"We knock him out again," a much scarier voice answered. Sodapop paled; he didn't want to be put to sleep again. It was even scarier that he could hear the voices but he couldn't see them; the boy tried to turn his head but it hurt so much that it was impossible, for Sodapop at least.

A door opened, and Sodapop heard footsteps approach the location where the voices were coming from. Sodapop whined, trying to gain attention; who knew, maybe somebody had finally come to rescue him.

"I don't like this guys. What if we get caught?" a new voice said. Sodapop sighed and felt tears run down his face; help wasn't here, it was just another one of the offenders.

"Greg, we won't get caught. I doubt anyone's looking for the kid anyway; he's just a greaser," the scary voice assured his brother, what Sodapop assumed. "Nobody cares about greasers."

Sodapop didn't even try to stop himself from yelling at the guy.

"How would you know that? You good for nothing…" Sodapop went on to call the person every obscenity he could think of.

Everything was quiet for a moment. Sodapop gulped; in that rush of name calling, he had forgotten that these people were dangerous. The leader might have even been crazy enough to kill him, he thought. What if he had a knife right at that moment? What if he wanted to kill Sodapop for calling him names that Sodapop knew Darry would skin him alive for. Darry – how he missed his big brother.

Big, loud footsteps started approaching the bed Sodapop was lying on, and fear grew in the boy each step the person made.

"What did you just say to me?" a tall, blond man growled at Sodapop. He looked about twenty-one or twenty-two at the least. Sodapop gulped; he didn't know what to say.

"I-I-I'm very sorry, sir," the boy apologized, his voice quivering.

The man in-front of Sodapop slapped the boy so hard across the face Sodapop was almost knocked out once again. He was about to hit the younger boy again, but somebody stopped him.

"Stop it, Aaron! He's scared," the voice cried. Sodapop noticed that it was the one with the softer voice. He too had blond hair, but it was darker and longer than the other boy's. He was also slightly shorter than the other boy, and had a more youthful look about him.

The taller one, Aaron, glared at Sodapop's savior before forcefully pulling away from him. Two smaller brunets stood behind the blonds. The shortest, who was wearing thick black-framed glasses, wore an expression familiar to Sodapop's on his face. Brian never liked it when his brothers fought, even though it was quite often that they did.

"I never wanted this kid here, I wanted _Ponyboy_! And besides, baby brothers shouldn't swear anyway."

"But that's the thing: he ain't Ponyboy. If Ponyboy was here then you could tell him off for cussin', but that ain't Ponyboy," the other brunet added.

Sodapop's head shot up, and even though it throbbed painfully, Sodapop turned his head towards the gang of brothers.

"What do you mean, you want Ponyboy? Why do you want my little brother?"

" _Our_ little brother," Aaron affirmed, pointing to himself and his other brothers. "He's ours."

Sodapop's eyes widened in anger; so this was all just a mistake? They were going to really kidnap _his_ baby brother?

The boy couldn't himself, and simply chose to forget the harsh slap from before. He cussed all the boys out, shouting and screaming at them. How dare they try to take his little brother?

It wasn't long before he was knocked out again.

 **XXX**

Darry's room was cold. Ponyboy could feel the coldness bite at his body, and it felt horrible. Though when he pulled the covers tightly over himself, he started sweating. His head didn't hurt anymore though, which was a good sign.

"Darry!" the boy shouted.

Darry was in the room in less than five seconds, at least that's how long it felt like to Ponyboy. The oldest Curtis never seemed to be out of Pony's sight these days.

"Feelin' better, little brother?" the man asked, turning on the light before walking over to his baby brother.

Ponyboy yawned and nodded, wrapping his arms around his big brother's frame. He usually wouldn't get this close to Darry, but he felt very vulnerable when he was sick and wanted all the attention he could get.

"I want Soda," the boy whimpered, beginning to cry.

The oldest Curtis shut his eyes; he hated being reminded of his younger brother – it made him sad. But he hadn't forgotten about him at all; he was still determined to find his other little brother.

"Me too, baby. I'm sure we'll find him soon," Darry assured the youngest Curtis.

Ponyboy nodded into his brother's shoulder, however a sudden wavering feeling passed through his stomach. His throat felt weird, and he lurched forward. Darry moved out of the way just in time for Ponyboy to throw up all over the carpet, his small frame leaning over the bed.

When he was finished, he realized that he had been sick on _Darry's_ carpet. The small boy burst into tears, scared that his big brother was going to shout at him.

Instead, Darry stepped over the mess and picked his youngest brother up, holding him close to his chest. Ponyboy didn't stop crying, though his sobs weren't as bad as before.

"It's alright, honey; I'll just clean it up," Darry smiled, though his eyes were wide. Not because he was worried about Ponyboy being sick, but because he knew that he had made Pony this sick.

"Maybe it's getting out of hand now…" Darry muttered under his breath so Ponyboy didn't hear him.

But then the man thought about Soda. He'd seen it on the news often; kids that got kidnapped rarely came back. Of course he didn't know if this was the case, but he was sure that his middle-brother would be gone for a while, no matter how much he didn't want to believe it. And he swore that he wouldn't let the same thing happen to Ponyboy; Sodapop and his parents would be so disappointed in him.

"I'm sorry, Darry," Ponyboy cried into his brother's chest. Darry looked down at his baby brother, and rubbed his back.

"Don't be sorry, baby. I ain't mad at you. But this is why you worry me; there was a reason why I didn't want you going out today." Darry wasn't prepared to explain the real reason why he didn't want Ponyboy going out.

"B-but I felt fine," Ponyboy claimed, his tears now gone. His lips were trembling however.

"I know you did, Pony, but look at what's happened. If you'd have just done as you were told-"

"I didn't know I was gonna throw up!" Ponyboy exclaimed; all's he'd done was left the house for a few hours – how had that made him sick?

"Maybe the angels are angry with you," Darry suggested, thinking of his mom and dad. Though he knew that if the angels were angry with anyone, it was him.

Ponyboy gulped; did this mean he wasn't going to go the clouds when he died? Did this mean he'd go to the red place where there was eternal fire? He remembered being paranoid that Dallas had gone to hell after he died, but then he was sure that he was in the clouds with Johnny and his parents; Dallas was a bad person, but he wasn't evil. But the young boy now feared that he was evil; he had worried his big brother because he had disappeared for a few hours – that was pretty evil, wasn't it?

The youngest Curtis stared at the bracelet on his wrist. It was the one that Dol, the strange lady, had given to him a few hours ago. The little lambs were so innocent and helpless, a bit like Johnny. His heart ached when he thought of Johnny, making him feel worse.

Darry noticed the bracelet and grabbed Ponyboy's wrist hard, leaving a large, red mark.

"Where'd you get this?" he asked, trying to keep calm. "I ain't never seen this before."

"Oh, somebody gave it to me," Ponyboy answered, pulling his wrist out of his big brother's grip.

" _Who_ gave it to you?" Darry questioned, his breathing starting to speed up.

"Just some woman…" Ponyboy said, his eyes wide. What was Darry's problem?

The oldest Curtis put Ponyboy down, forgetting he was sick, and dragged him out to the living room.

"And who is this woman? When did you meet her? It musta' been today."

"Well yeah, I met her at the park-"

"So you've been talkin' to strangers?!" Darry bellowed loudly, punching the wall as hard as he could. His knuckles started to bleed, but he didn't care.

Ponyboy shrunk back in pure fear; his big brother looked ready to kill somebody. And he was sure that person was him.

"She wasn't a bad person, Darry," Ponyboy reasoned, but his eyes widened when Darry's did.

"How do you know that, huh? I bet Soda wasn't thinkin' that before he got taken!"

"We don't know if Soda was taken though," Ponyboy cried, tears threatening to spill once again.

That was it. Darry grabbed Ponyboy's arm and dragged him back to the boy's old bedroom. He pushed him in and shut the door sharply, locking it behind him. The man sunk down against the door, leaning against it.

Ponyboy went wild. He screamed and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Darry, open the door!" he begged, pounding on the hard wood.

Darry smiled, tears forming in his eyes. He hadn't cried for a while.

"You're safe now, baby brother. No bad people gonna take you. How bout' I get you some food?" Darry asked, nodding his head as he spoke. He remembered seeing a big bottle of medicine in the cupboard. He didn't know what it was for, but he had a feeling it would be effective.

"No! Please let me out, Darry!" Ponyboy pleaded.

Darry just blinked, and the tears rolled down his face. But he was still nodding his head, and he had a big smile on his face. He was doing what any big brother would do; he was keeping his baby brother safe.

 **AN: I'm so sorry it took so long to update, but I've had lots of exams, including my piano exam, which I found out that I passed, and the certificate came in the mail :D I'll update quicker next time :) Thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far; I can't thank you all enough :D –** ** _This was supposed to be updated months ago but something wasn't right with my computer. Sorry :/_**


	5. Chapter 4

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)**

 _"_ _Ponyboy."_

 _Ponyboy scanned around the area with his eyes. Somebody was calling his name, but he couldn't quite figure out who it was._

 _"_ _Forgotten 'bout me already?"_

 _The voice sounded familiar, but there was nobody in-front of him. Was it a ghost that was speaking?_

 _"_ _I'm right here, kiddo."_

 _When Ponyboy turned around, he smiled. It was Sodapop. His brother._

 _"_ _Soda, you're here," Ponyboy smiled, walking over to his brother._

 _However, he was stopped by a sheep. Many sheep actually; much more than a single flock. They were all running around, and when Ponyboy awoke from his shock and looked up, he cried when he saw that his brother was gone._

 _His brother was a lost sheep._

 _"_ _Soda!" the boy shouted, however the sheep were running around insanely, so bad that he nearly got stampeded over when he was knocked down. "Soda, come back!" But he didn't._

 _Then, as if by magic, the sheep all galloped away. Ponyboy looked around in amazement, searching for his older brother, however was instead greeted by the brother he wasn't so happy to see: Darry._

 _"_ _Where've you been?" the man asked dangerously, marching over to the younger boy. Ponyboy backed away, however there was nowhere to go now. He was back in his room._

 _"_ _D-Darry," Ponyboy whined, holding his hands up as if to defend himself. Darry just shook his head and smirked at the boy._

 _"_ _You've been bad," the oldest Curtis stated, and then stormed out of the room and locked the door. Ponyboy gasped and ran over to the door, trying his best to open it but failing._

 _"_ _Darry, let me out!" the young boy begged._

 _His room was getting darker, and there was a shadow that kept moving among the walls. Tears ran down Ponyboy's face as he clenched the door handle tightly – so tight that his palm began to bleed._

 _"_ _It's just me, Ponyboy," a rough voice claimed. Ponyboy breathed out heavily, his sobs rattled because of his irritated throat. "C'mon now, Soda's here to make it all better."_

 _The shadow moved again, disappearing, and out of nowhere came Soda. Ponyboy smiled, with tears still in his eyes, until he noticed the state of his big brother._

 _Sodapop was in his jeans and shoes, however his DX cap and DX shirt were both gone. His chest and stomach were covered in cuts and welts, and the bottom of his jeans were soaked in blood._

 _The once handsome face was now terrifying. Sodapop's nose was bent right out of shape, and his nostrils were purple with small amounts of blood leaking onto his lips. His bottom teeth had all been smashed up, however his top teeth were bright red, and his gums were gushing with blood. The teenager was sporting a black eye – which wasn't black; more like a mix of purple and red. And it was terrifying._

 _"_ _Ssh," Sodapop chuckled, holding a finger to his destroyed mouth. "Darry will yell at us."_

 _Ponyboy squeezed his eyes shut, wanting nothing more for his big brother to be transformed back to normal. He wanted his big brother back, not this thing that scared the life out of him. Not this…not this thing that seemed so real._

 _When the boy's eyes opened again, the thing that claimed itself to be Soda was gone. Ponyboy smiled, however when he heard leaking coming from his closet, the smile faded._

 _The boy tried to ignore the noise, however it was irritating him terribly. He had completely forgotten about Darry now, and was only focused on his closet. That was until he spotted Sodapop's DX cap on the floor, right next to the door of the closet._

 _Furrowing his eyebrows, Ponyboy stood up and slowly approached the cap. It was spotted with red paint; at least that was what Ponyboy hoped it was. Picking the cap up, Ponyboy turned to the closet; he'd have to face it sometime, especially with that awful noise._

 _The door creaked when Ponyboy opened it._

 _Sodapop wouldn't be happy to find out that Ponyboy dropped his beloved DX cap to the floor. But hopefully he wouldn't mind; the sight would be a shock to anyone, even Sodapop himself._

 _Ponyboy whimpered as he stared at the sight in-front of him. Sodapop's DX shirt was wrapped tightly around his neck, as the boy was dangling from the clothes rack. His mouth was wide open, making the blood from his mouth drip to the floor. So that was what the noise was from?_

 _"_ _Soda…" Ponyboy cried. Sodapop's eyes were rolled to the side of him, and when Ponyboy looked, he saw there was a message written on the wall._

 _…_ _You did this, Ponyboy…_

 _Ponyboy stumbled back onto the floor, and he couldn't help it: he screamed._

 **XXX**

"Ponyboy, wake up kiddo," a voice ordered softly. Ponyboy's eyes flew open as the boy shot up. "Hey, hey, it's okay, baby."

The youngest Curtis panicked when he realized when he wasn't at home, however relaxed when he realized he was in Darry's truck. He was safe now.

"You were havin' a nightmare," the man told his brother gently, shaking his head. "Guess it's my fault, huh?"

"No," Ponyboy answered quickly, reaching out. However, he groaned in pain and pulled his arm back down; his stomach was hurting him.

"You just relax, kiddo," Darry said. "I'm takin' you to Mrs Mathews; she's gonna look after you while I'm at work. Now I don't want you doing anything alright? I've told her you're not allowed to leave the house and you need to spend the day resting." Ponyboy frowned. "Hey, don't look like that. Betcha haven't had the best sleep; the way you were carryin' on then."

Ponyboy sunk down in his seat, blinking rapidly to stop himself from crying. That was such an awful nightmare, and when he stared down at his wrist and realized he still had the bracelet with the lost sheep on it, he shuddered. Darry turned to his younger brother and noticed he was observing the bracelet…the one that an awful stranger had given to the boy.

But Darry wasn't going to remind of Ponyboy of what happened the night before. He was sure Ponyboy had learnt his lesson about talking to strangers anyway.

"If you're sick, Mrs Mathews promised she'd call me, so don't worry 'bout that," Darry smiled. "And when I'm done with work today, if you're well enough, we might be able to go out for somethin' to eat." If Ponyboy was with him, it was fine. Nobody would dare try to take his baby brother away from him if he was there; he'd murder the first person who even looked at Ponyboy the wrong way.

They pulled up to the Mathews house a few minutes later. Ponyboy went to exit the truck, but Darry told him not to move. The boy waited quietly while Darry got out of the truck and retrieved something from the back-seat, and even though Ponyboy wanted to see what the thing was, he was far too weak to move around.

Darry opened the passenger door, and Pony saw that he had a large blue blanket in his hands. The youngest Curtis looked at his brother, however Darry just smiled at him and pulled his youngest brother out of the truck, wrapping him in the blanket and picking him up.

"I can walk just fine," Ponyboy protested, squirming as Darry carried him to the front door of the Mathews' house. "They're all gonna think 'am a baby."

"No; they'll think you're sick, like I've told them," Darry responded, squeezing his brother close to him.

Even leaving Ponyboy with Mrs Mathews, a woman who he'd known for years, scared Darry. What if she was a bad person? Of course Darry knew she was anything but, however since Sodapop had gone missing, Darry didn't really trust anybody. The man knew that he had to go back to work though; if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to provide for his littlest brother, and he'd be damned if his little brother got sick – even though he already was.

Mrs Mathews was at the door almost as soon as Darry knocked. The woman was grinning like crazy, however gave Ponyboy a sympathetic look when she saw the state of the youngest Curtis.

"Oh no, poor dear. I've heard you're feeling poorly."

"He's very poorly," Darry stated. "And he'll need a lot of rest. Can't have this one bein' sick now, can I?"

"Of course not. I've got some medicine in our cupboards - for fevers - so we won't have a problem if your temperature gets a little out of hand, okay, Ponyboy?" Mrs Mathews smiled at the young boy. Ponyboy nodded into Darry's shoulder.

Darry grinned nervously. He was a bit worried that Ponyboy would get sicker if Mrs Mathews gave him medicine; the oldest Curtis didn't know half of the stuff that he'd put in Ponyboy's food and drinks recently, and adding anything to them would definitely have an effect on his baby brother, the man was certain of it. But he just bit his lip and went along with it; Mrs Mathews would probably get suspicious otherwise.

"Keith an' Janie are still asleep, so you could get in my bed if you want to. I mean, I'm sure even Keith wouldn't mind if you wanted company you could-"

"No thanks, that's fine," Darry chuckled coldly, wrapping the blanket tighter around Ponyboy. He really didn't want to let his baby brother go; if Darry could, he'd take Ponyboy to work with him, but he knew his boss wouldn't be too happy – at least he thought that -, and Pony probably wouldn't get any sleep either.

Mrs Mathews just smiled. "Alright then, you should get off to work, Darry. Pony will have a great time here, ain't that right?"

"He needs to rest," Darry reminded her. "And he'll need a lot a' fluid too. Remember to call me if anything happens, like if his fever goes up or he's sick," Darry rambled, hesitantly placing Ponyboy on the ground. "You be good, alright? I'll call at lunch." Though Darry secretly hoped that when he did call at lunch, Ponyboy would be asleep. "I love you, little brother."

Darry grabbed Ponyboy one last time before he left and hugged him hard. Ponyboy would only be out of his sight for a few hours…but a few hours was too much really. But he couldn't afford to miss work; his boss had been kind enough to let him off for a few days because Sodapop had gone missing, but if he missed any more he knew he'd be pushing the limit, well, he thought that.

"Love you, Darry," Ponyboy murmured into his brother's chest, and then pulled away. "See ya later."

The oldest Curtis swallowed and smiled, patting his brother's shoulder and walking away rather sharply. He waved goodbye to Ponyboy and Mrs Mathews, and then angrily got into the truck, slamming the door hard. Mrs Mathews flinched as Ponyboy rubbed his forehead, holding his blanket over his shoulder. The older woman smiled down at the boy, and rubbed his hair gently.

"Right then, let's go inside. Your big brother has made your needs very clear," she chuckled, placing her hands on Ponyboy's shoulders to guide him into the house.

Meanwhile, on a road someplace near, Darry was clenching the steering wheel tightly. If Mrs Mathews or Two-Bit screwed this up…they'd be sorry.

 **AN: I'm so sorry it's been like over a month since I've updated. Like some of my other stories I got a little stuck XD Any ideas for the next chapter? Thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far; I can't thank you all enough :)**


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